Phoenix Solar Inc. (San Ramon, Calif.; www.phoenixsolar.com), the U.S. subsidiary of Phoenix Solar AG has announced it signed a contract with Silicon Ranch Corp. (Nashville, Tenn.; www.siliconranchcorp.com) to build a 38.6-MW solar plant called Simon Solar Farm outside Atlanta, Georgia. Upon completion, the installation will be the largest utility-scale solar power facility in the state and the largest solar installation in the 14-year history of Phoenix Solar. The project further demonstrates Phoenix Solar’s focus on high-growth regions, including the U.S. and Asia. Phoenix Solar AG expects that Simon Solar Farm, among other strategic projects, will result in an increase of Group revenues to between €160 and 190 million in 2013.
Site work has already begun at Simon Solar Farm. The solar power plant is scheduled for completion by the end of 2013. The plant is expected to generate enough renewable energy each year to charge a fleet of 10,000 electric vehicles with enough electricity to be driven 20,000 miles. Under the terms of the contract, Phoenix Solar Inc. will provide all engineering, procurement and construction services to Silicon Ranch to develop the ground-mount solar park on 161 acres at the Simon Solar Farm, about 30 miles east of Atlanta, the state capital. Phoenix Solar will also provide long-term operations and maintenance support for the solar park.Georgia Power, the state’s largest electrical utility, has agreed to buy the electricity generated from the solar park, under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement with Silicon Ranch.
The Simon Solar Farm is yet another example of the strategic partnership between Silicon Ranch and Phoenix Solar that has resulted in the construction of several solar power facilities in the Southeast, including the largest solar installation at a U.S. auto plant, namely the LEED Platinum-certified Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee.